Paying too much for rent? Airbnb may have a solution

If the first of every month has you itching to become a card-carrying member of the “Rent is Too Damn High” party, Airbnb may have a solution: rent your apartment out on its platform.

But not in the shady, hopefully my landlord doesn’t discover I’m doing this kind of way. Instead, the company has partnered with some of the largest property managers in the US to launch Airbnb-friendly apartments, a program that currently counts 175 different apartment buildings across 25+ cities as initial partners. Tenants at participating locations can go through a signup process to list their apartment on the platform.

During an initial three-month test period, the company says participating renters:

• Hosted an average of nine nights per month
• Made an average of $900 per month

But just like the great American hero Rocky Balboa once said, tenant-land ain't all sunshine and rainbows. Some places, like New York and various counties in California, have regulations in place geared towards restricting short-term subletting. Plus, Airbnb’s program enables apartment building-owners to place their own rules and restrictions on rentals, as well as charge tenants up to a 20% fee on any income.

🏘 Zoom out: In 2020, the average renter spent 27% of their income on rent, per a report from the National Apartment Association, close to the 30% max threshold many financial experts advise. And that report was published before a record-setting median rent increase of 17.6% in 2021.